Our latest editon to the
Fat Buddha Store family is
Chrome Industries; a brand who have been building tough gear for people who live and ride the city since 1995.
The first chrome bag was made with a juki sewing machine, a few yards of Cordura
®, military grade truck tarpaulin, and the commitment to make bombproof gear that works on and off the bike.
From the beginning,
the drive for simple, useful, and resourceful solutions led Chrome to
make its original messenger bag with a salvaged seatbelt buckle. With
innovations like the iconic quick release buckle, load stabilizing
strap, dual wall construction and five bar webbing, the Chrome messenger
bag became the bag of choice for working bike messengers around the
world.Over the last 20 years
Chrome has never wavered from it's commitment to making useful and
durable gear for professional messengers, fixed freestyle riders, and
urban commuters — people who live and ride in the city. Chrome makes street tested bags, footwear and apparel that adapt to the changing and unpredictable nature of the city.
Chrome is urban mobility. They make simple, functional gear built with industrial-strength
materials and features that work on the bike and in the bar. They make
gear that protects people and their things from the elements without
looking like you came from the mountains.
Let's look back at the brand's history. Chrome started in Boulder, CO 20 years ago when a couple guys needed
bags and couldn’t find anything that met their standards. So they got
the toughest materials they could find, headed into their garage and
started sewing.
Before long, people were knocking on their door. Word was out that
Chrome was making the best bags around. What started out of necessity
became a business with an ethic: build functional products that people
can rely on and do it well.
They loved their bags, but got sick of pulling them over their heads. They
needed a tough, quick release system that worked. So they went to the
salvage yard and started cutting seatbelt buckles out of old cars. Those
were the initial prototypes of what became their signature buckle
messenger bag.
In 2001 the Chrome Griffin was born. Created by Denver graphic designer, Stephen
Beneski, the Griffin was selected as the brand's logo to embody the head
of a gargoyle, body of a lion and wings of an eagle. Many variations by
dozens of different artists have been brought to life but this iconic
stamp remains the brand's logo to this day.
Feeling the call of the city hills of
San Francisco, Chrome relocated from Colorado in 2002. The premier West Coast
hub for bike messengers, SF is in the brand's blood.
Chrome are anti-nonsense. Everything they make needs to have purpose, be
functional and durable. In 2004 they moved from a plastic buckle to a
metal buckle to ensure it's the last one you'll ever need.
Taking inspiration from their favorite Descendents record, the very first
Chrome shoe, The Milo, was introduced in 2007. It was launched at the
North American Cycle Courier Championships 2007 in SF, the premier race
where the King and Queen of bike messengers are crowned.
Staying true to their SoMa roots, they moved from their first San Francisco
warehouse on 7th and Folsom into a new building on 4th and Brannan. They converted the upstairs warehouse into Chrome HQ and opened our first
retail store and community hub on the main floor.
Remaining headquartered in SF, they opened up their second Chrome Hub in an
1800s firehouse on Mulberry street, in the bike messenger capital of the
world, New York City. Chrome has now opened hubs in Chicago, Portland,
Seattle, Washington DC, Denver, a second SF location and recently
expanded to Tokyo and Osaka.
Each Chrome Hub is outfitted with a Chrome Customs sewing station, where
you'll find their talented local bag makers. Armed with stacks of color
options, patches, seasonal fabrics and sewing expertise each bag maker
builds hundreds of personalized, durable bags, one at a time.
In 2014 Chrome parnered with Cinelli. Team Cinelli Chrome is a crew of self -sufficient, semi-organized, fixed
crit riders who travel around the world to race. They carry their own
bags, wrench on their own bikes and bandage their own wounds.
2015 marked their 20th year of building and selling tough and timeless
bags, apparel and footwear.
Shop
Chrome Industries in store and online at Fat Buddha Store.
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